NATAE Field Kick-Off Day at El Krib Living Lab Marks a Milestone for Agroecology in Tunisia

The Living Lab of El Krib in the Siliana district, Tunisia, marked the start of the 2024-25 cropping season with a Field Kick-Off Day on October 24, 2024 under the NATAE project. Supported by the CGIAR Research Initiative on Agroecology and hosted by ICARDA in collaboration with INGC, INAT, and local stakeholders, the event brought together 54 participants, including farmers, researchers, extension agents, and NGOs with a remarkable 50% female participation.

The initiative aligns with NATAE’s broader goals to scale up agroecological practices across North Africa through its seven Living Labs located in five countries (Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia), addressing multi-aspect challenges at the economic, environmental, social, and policy levels. A key objective of this event was gathering farmers’ feedback on the co-designed agroecological practices that were identified at the El Krib Living Lab site, and therefore to help further refine these practices and guide the Living Lab’s research roadmap in the following phases of the project.

The four agroecological practices were co-designed under the NATAE project mainly in response to the challenges faced in the El Krib Living Lab such as poor soils, irregular rainfall, and soil erosion, given the semi-arid climate, and the vulnerability of the local agricultural system which revolves around cereal-livestock farming.

  1. No-tillage + Crop Rotation (Cereals/Legumes)
  2. Intercropping (Forage Mixtures) + Livestock Integration
  3. Forage Mixtures + Livestock + Reduced Chemical Inputs
  4. No-Tillage + Crop Rotation + Livestock

The Field Kick-Off Day was an interactive experience, emphasizing co-creation and knowledge exchange between the different attendees. Farmers engaged in discussions, provided feedback on proposed practices, and witnessed a rainfall simulation showcasing the benefits of no-till farming for water retention and soil conservation.

Read more about it: Unleashing Agroecology in Tunisia: Highlights from NATAE’s Inspiring Field Kick-Off Day

Webinar Medae: What are the prospects for supporting the deployment of agroecology in public policies in North Africa?

MEDAE will implement a webinar that will present the results of a cross-sectional analysis of public policies in North Africa, as well as an examination of the place of agroecology in international conventions, and will look at the extent to which these policies provide a favourable or unfavourable framework for the agroecological transition. There will be time for discussion on the prospects for supporting agroecology and ways of encouraging the agroecological transition in North Africa.

Program (CET)

•  14:00 – Welcome
•  14:05 – Presentation of the MEDAE network (MEDiterranean multiactor network on AgroEcology).
Marion Comptour, MEDAE Network Coordinator – CARI Association

• 14:20 – Discussion
• 14:30 – Agroecology in the national public policies of North African countries.
Rita Jalkh, post-doctoral fellow and project manager NATAE– CIHEAM IAMM 

• 15:00 – The place of agroecology in farmer practices: the case of Algeria.
Adel Moulai, researcher and project coordinator – El-Argoub Association

• 15:20 – International conventions as possible levers for a better integration of agroecology into national public policies.
Manon Albagnac, in charge of the follow-up to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification – Association CARI

• 15:35 – Discussion
• 16:00 – End of webinar

The registration is mandatory, so sign up now here

More information to come on  https://www.medae-agroecology.eu

Workshop: Deployment of Living Labs Approaches in Africa for Sustainable Agriculture


Workshop aims and objectives

Following-up on the webinar ‘Agroecology Living Labs in Africa’, during which the four projects under the Horizon Europe Farm to Fork program PrAEctiCE, CANALLS, CIRAWA and NATAE shared their perspectives on the development of Living Labs throughout Africa, an offline workshop was co-organized during the Open Living Lab Days 2024 in Timișoara, Romania. The 1.5 h event brought together in a roundtable discussion participants who were either involved in a Living Lab setting (GDA SIDI Amor, Tunisia or Basaksehir Living-Lab, Turkey) or interested in the Living Lab approach (Digital4Planet) and particular within agricultural research and extension (Acta, France)

The aim of this workshop was to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences among established and upcoming food systems Living Labs throughout Africa and to delve into the opportunities and challenges that arise when international projects set up and operate Living Labs in Africa.

Roundtable discussion and take-home-messages

The roundtable discussion centered around following questions:

  • How do we bring together the research and innovation needs of local communities and (international) scientists?
  • How can data be collected from Living Labs scientifically by making it easy and simple for living lab practitioners?
  • How do we address differences in understanding, communication, working styles, language, and cultural backgrounds?
  • How can we foster long-term ownership of the Living Lab in an agroecosystem with limited finance?

Following points were emphasized throughout the discussion and seem crucial for a successful Living Lab approach:

  • Need analysis: starting a Living Lab with identifying and analyzing the local challenges, needs and goals of involved Living Lab actors so as to initiate and conduct relevant research and action
  • Embeddedness and trust: Living Labs depend on the sustained participation of involved actors. Thus, building personal connections, trust and good working relationships by research and action teams embedded in the local context is deemed crucial.
  • Training the local facilitators/researchers etc.: Having the above point in mind, it is therefore, necessary for international projects to invest time and resources in empowering local researchers and facilitators, so as to sustain the work of Living Labs even after the end of externally funded projects.
  • Demonstrating benefits, best practices, empower pioneers: To motivate participation in the Living Labs and to create value for the participants it was emphasized that feeding back the results is important through demonstrating best practices and the work of pioneers.
  • Cross visits – peer-to-peer/ south-south collaboration: The importance of peer-to-peer and horizontal exchanges were also highlighted when it comes to learning and Living Lab sustainability beyond the timeline of externally funded projects.

Short info on the sister projects                         

PrAEctiCe aims to facilitate the agroecological transition of farmers in East Africa by providing them with a novel Decision Support Tool (DST) that features an agroecology indicator set. The DST is designed to empower farmers to make informed decisions that can enhance their agroecological practices. To validate the effectiveness of this tool, PrAEctiCe has established three demonstration pilots (living labs) in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The data generated from these pilots will be used to validate the DST.

CIRAWA using four key agroecological approaches, the project aims to demonstrate in how working with nature can enhance ecosystem health and biodiversity while improving local livelihoods and climate resilience.

CANALLS aims to drive agroecological transitions in the humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa via multi-actor transdisciplinary Agroecology Living Labs (ALLs) and provide holistic agroecological solutions that meet the challenges of local food systems.

NATAE employs a transdisciplinary Living Lab approach to identify, test and scale tailored agroecological practice combinations with local stakeholders in six Living Labs reflecting the diversity of agroecological zones in North Africa. Farmers and farm-scale agroecological practices are the starting point of NATAE Living Labs, which operate at the community level to enable dialogues and activities between key stakeholders necessary for an agroecological transition

Figure 1: Picture of the A0 poster. The discussion outcomes were structured using an A0 poster with a matrix representing the key activities for stakeholder engagement (inform, consult, involve, and collaborate) as rows and the key phases of a Living Lab lifecycle (planning/design, implementation, and evaluation) as columns. Participants noted down important elements, solutions and examples of activities that can be developed at each stage based on their experience

Developing promising agroecological practice combinations in the semi-arid and mountainous Living Lab of Skoura M’Daz, Boulemane, Morocco (Skoura-MA)

Rich insights into the potentials and challenges of an agroecological transition in the Living Lab Skoura-MA have been gained during an extensive territorial diagnosis and the official Living Lab launch activities in 2023. Learning from that, researchers proposed an initial set of agroecological practices (AEP) to be explored in the Living Lab and to be discussed with farmers in more detail: the 1) association of olive trees and medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP), 2) traditional gravity irrigation and improvement options, 3) drip irrigation, 4) use of manure, and 5) use of shredded tree pruning residues.

Three farmer focus group discussions took place in February 2024 bringing together eight women of the local women cooperative processing MAP, four and six farmers respectively. Farmers exchanged on the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed AEPs and were subsequently asked to rate those AEP in an individual rating activity. The idea is, that suitable AEP combinations can increase positive and minimize negative effects of single practices in a synergistic way.

Figure 1: One focus group discussion was held with the local women cooperative processing MAP in their workshop

Concerns emphasized by farmers were among others the effect of practices on water use, crop development and yields, soil fertility and erosion, pest and disease development, as well as implementation constraints regarding equipment (e.g, wood shredders, processing equipment for MAP) and infrastructure (e.g., water storage basins) requirements.

Figure 2: A flip chart with two columns was used to summarize the discussion on advantages and disadvantages of agroecological practices

Farmers’ concerns were taken up by the representative board on the 20th of February 2024 gathering 9 stakeholders including farmers and cooperative members, representatives of regional and provincial agricultural governance institutions, elected municipality officials, and researchers of the National School of Agriculture in Meknes. Representative board members explored promising activities at Living Lab level that could help to address farmers’ concerns, such as training and farmer organization.

Next steps in the Living Lab aim to set up initial on-farm experimentation plots to explore the effects of promising AEP combinations and to organize farmer field schools facilitating the knowledge exchange among farmers and researchers.

Figure 3: View on the town of Skoura M'Daz and surrounding mountainous environment

Exploring Synergies with other projects

On May 13, 2024, a meeting was held online to explore possible ways of collaboration between the LandNet of the ResAlliance project (https://www.resalliance.eu), and the MEDAE network developed within the NATAE project (Natae – North African Transition to AgroEcology (natae-agroecology.eu). Both projects are funded by the European Union. To a large extent they share a similar vision and concerns (agroecology and landscape resilience in a context of climate change) and they both focus on the Mediterranean area. The participants of the meeting were Dr. Gavriil Xanthopoulos of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization DIMITRA representing the LandNet, Dr. Marion Comptour of the CARI association, on behalf of the NATAE project, and Dario Pollicino of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is an associated partner in both projects.

Following a fruitful discussion about the approaches of the two projects and their networks, it was agreed to maintain contact, to make each of the two networks known to the members of the other, to seek opportunities for exchanges of ideas and information, and to explore the possibility of some common future activities.

NATAE Consortium Meeting and General Assembly held in Tunis

From April 28 to May 4, the Consortium Meeting and General Assembly within the scope of the North Africa Transition to Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (NATAE) project took place in Tunis, Tunisia. The event brought together the 20 partners from the distinct scientific expertises to address pressing challenges in North Africa’s food systems.

The primary aim of NATAE is to engage the high-level of Research and Education institutions, international organizations, and specialized NGOs to showcase that agro-ecological approaches, tailored to the region’s diverse farming systems, can further provide effective solutions to food system challenges in North Africa.

The agenda included insights on the capitalisation process over agroecological practices, presentations for each Agrosystem from Living to Replicant Labs, some news shared about the launch of the MEDAE network to reporting of Communication and dissemination actions.

A visit to the Field of the Siliana Living Lab was further organized by Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie. A great experience in firsthand where NATAE partners were exposed to the innovative agricultural practices and sustainable solutions that are underway.

The NATAE partners were also able to enter in contact with the innovative agricultural practices and sustainable solutions underway for the successful Agroecology transition. The programme included some interactive workshops, presentations, and insightful discussions in topics related to Agroecology as a mode of production and sustainable food system to the Crop production specifications of the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS).

On the last day, an immersive experience was provided to the partners through the visit to the Permaculture Farm L’Heridium in Tunis along with nteractive workshops that involved the simulation of a PGS survey at the Heridium farm.

NATAE Consortium Meeting and General Assembly in Tunis

We are excited to announce that the NATAE Consortium Meeting and General Assembly is scheduled to take place in Tunis, Tunisia from April 28th to May 3th, 2024. This significant event marks a crucial moment for our Consortium as we gather to deliberate on key initiatives aimed at fostering a successful Agroecology transition in North Africa.

During this Meeting, NATAE partners will convene to exchange insights, discuss ongoing projects, and chart the course for future collaborations. With a focus on advancing sustainable agricultural practices and promoting environmental stewardship, the Consortium Meeting and General Assembly will serve as a platform for robust discussions, knowledge sharing, and strategic planning.

Stay tuned for updates from the event as we work together towards a more sustainable and resilient future for North Africa! For more information about NATAE and our initiatives, follow our updates at our social media channels.

Webinar: The agro-ecological transition as seen by stakeholders in the field: between challenges and achievements. The case of the irrigated valley of Luxor, Egypt

The last of the 5 webinars to be implemented as part of the MEADE network, will take place on the 14th December 2023 (14:00 -16:00 CET) and the topic “The agro-ecological transition as seen by stakeholders in the field: between challenges and achievements. The case of the irrigated valley of Luxor, Egypt” will be discussed. Access the agenda of the event in English or in French to have more information and to be able to register to participate.

Webinar: Climate change: a catalyst for the agro-ecological transition of cereal cultivation in North Africa?

The forth of the 5 webinars to be implemented as part of the MEADE network, will take place on the 7th December 2023 (10:00 -12:00 CET) and the topic “Climate change: a catalyst for the agro-ecological transition of cereal cultivation in North Africa?” will be discussed. Access the agenda of the event in English or in French to have more information and to be able to register to participate.

Webinar: Between traditional and scientific knowledge, how can we improve the resilience of peri-oases systems?

The third of the 5 webinars to be implemented as part of the MEADE network, will take place on the 23rd November 2023 (10:00 -12:00 CET) and the topic “Between traditional and scientific knowledge, how can we improve the resilience of peri-oases systems?” will be discussed. Access the agenda of the event in English or in French to have more information and to be able to register to participate.